More than a year after getting the go-ahead for a 10-storey hotel annex with conference facilities and two swimming pools, owners of The Westin luxury hotel have been forced to re-apply for planning permission.
Planning chiefs at the Central Planning Authority granted permission for The Westin to build the additional hotel block with 234 guest rooms at its Seven Mile Beach resort in July last year, but that decision was later appealed, meaning the owners, Invincible Investment Corporation, have had to resubmit their original application for the $153 million expansion project.
However, the situation is far from straightforward, with the Department of Environment accusing the CPA of making the process “far more complicated and inefficient than it ought to be”.
The existing Westin resort, built between 1994 and 1999, comprises a five-storey hotel with 343 guest rooms, a pool, a spa facility, meeting and conference space and two restaurants. A planning application for the new hotel annex and conference facilities was first submitted on 12 Oct. 2022 and was adjourned three times before being approved in July 2023.
This decision was then the subject of an appeal.
According to minutes from the Central Planning Authority’s meeting on 2 Oct. 2024, “The Authority’s decision was appealed to the Planning Appeals Tribunal and prior to hearing the appeal the Authority consented to concede the appeal.”
The Planning Appeals Tribunal then resubmitted the application back to CPA to be considered afresh.
The minutes do not state why the appeal of the planning board’s decision was brought to the appeals tribunal, or by whom.
The DoE told the Compass it was not brought by them or by the National Conservation Council.
At the time the application was considered, the minutes state, “the Department of Environment (DoE) pre-empted the National Conservation Act (NCA) and illegally offered a directed condition per the NCA.”
According to the meeting notes, the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal ruled on 1 Sept. 2023 that the DoE did not have the powers to take that action. The CPA has since sought approval for the project from the National Conservation Council because the site is adjacent to a marine protected area.
All parties agreed to meet again on 13 Nov., by which point the CPA says the NCC should have provided a response on the issue.
A spokesperson for DoE told the Compass that the application was first referred to them in August 2022 and that it had given its response the same month.
“The DoE responded to the consultation request on 23 August 2022 as if it had been referred to us under section 41(3) of the NCA. This is a legal requirement for all entities making any decisions that could have adverse effects on the environment generally,” the DoE wrote.
However, it added, “the CPA have consistently refused to utilise the Guidance Notes promulgated by the NCC for the purpose of informing entities on when adverse effects are likely and therefore when they ought to consult with the NCC/DoE under section 41. As a result the process is far more complicated and inefficient than it ought to be.”
According to the DoE, this latest stage in the process has been caused by the CPA choosing to refer the matter again to the NCC, even though its response is the same.
A spokesperson said, “Although our directed conditions were fairly simple (eg stockpiling materials a sufficient distance away from the Marine Protected Area) the CPA chose to refer the matter to the NCC again on 03 October 2024 under section 41(4). Our response on 07 Oct 2024 essentially repeated our directed conditions that we initially brought forward in 2022.”
Invincible Investment Corporation’s plans for The Westin include a hotel tower with a restaurant, lounge, fitness and wellness facilities, laundry, and rooftop bar with a landscaped pool and deck as well as a conference space and a ballroom. It also includes an offsite carpark with 350 spaces near Sunshine Suites, accessible using a shuttle or valet service.
The issue will next be discussed by CPA on 13 Nov.
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